Sunday, June 11, 2017

The rights of Germany's lower-paid workers have been hit by the sweeping labour reforms introduced in the 2000s by SPD chancellor Gerhard Schröder, which critics say left workers more vulnerable and less able to push for better wages. As a result, the days in which less skilled German workers could look forward to regular pay increases seem unlikely to return in the foreseeable future.Germany introduced a minimum wage in 2015. But some experts argue that in many places it is not being properly enforced. Marcel Fratzscher, head of the DIW think-tank in Berlin, said the least qualified had seen their pay fall: “For people with low qualifications, the hourly rate has decreased from €12 to €9 since the late 1990s.”